Sadly, tomorrow will be the last day of service for Cafe Fanny, the 28-year-old Berkeley cafe from Alice Waters and her brother-in-law Jim Maser. Opened in 1984, the little restaurant was named after the heroine in Marcel Pagnol’s 1930s Marseilles movies; Fanny is also the name of Waters’ daughter.

So the big question: why?

“Basically, it’s just not economically viable anymore. We’ve been struggling for a long time,” says general manager Taylor Gregory. “Finally the owners decided to pull the plug.”

Management told employees yesterday. As for the tiny San Pablo Avenue space, the ownership team says they will “explore new possibilities” there.

This is the official statement from the restaurant partners:

Twenty-­eight years ago Café Fanny was conceived in the spirit of Marcel Pagnol’s trilogy -­ a love story involving the whole community, centered around a little standup café.

So it is with a heavy heart that we are closing Café Fanny today after 28 memorable years.

It is the right moment in time to explore new possibilities for this small space that can still house the romance and idealism of the original.

We want to thank our staff, suppliers, friends and most of all you, our wonderfully loyal customers who have been with us in bowls of café
au lait and beignets for so long.